topic Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE in Broadband & Landline

Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

humeka — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:30:00 GMT

I was a BT trialist (and Ex BT employee)... I took part in the Nuisance Call trial and also volunteer for the BT to EE Migration trial. Unfortunately the Migration was cancelled last year before it even started.

So I moved tp EE (thinking it would happen eventually for everyone) ... What a disaster !!! Many of my issues have occurred in other posts on this forum and continue to be ignored by EE ... Who seem to know better than their customers.

My physical broadband connection is delivered by OPENREACH on FDDI , so EE provide the router and billing.

Things I did not realise when I moved to EE have so far been :-

i) I’ve lost the ability to have contacts on my digital voice phone. Importing from my BT Smart Hub didn’t work, and an exported file from my Samsung mobile wouldn’t import either. It seems the CR/LF in the .vcf file is the problem, but I have no intention of hex editing the file to make it importable.

ii) Support for Alexa, including the use of BT’s advanced digital phones with Alexa, has been removed by EE for no apparent reason.

iii) As a trialist for EE’s new Smart Hub 7 Plus, I’ve raised issues and been referred to this forum for information. I feel completely justified in sharing my observations here as well as providing feedback on the trial.

iv) Living in a rural area with unstable power and only a single bar of 4G EE signal, I rely on Wi-Fi calling. A couple of years ago, I bought a BT/EE CyberPower UPS for the ONT and router, but the new hub uses a USB power lead, which isn’t compatible with CyberPower's barrel leads. EE sent me the new Battery Back Plus, but it arrived without a power cable. After three more orders, I finally received two barrel-type cables instead of the needed USB-C. I’ve been told there’s a fault with the USB-C cable, so it’ll be another month before I have UPS.

v) The EE app doesn’t support Digital Voice features like contacts, device registration, or router functions such as port forwarding. It makes me wonder if EE sees Digital Voice as a serious strategy or just a stopgap to phase out the copper local loop and exchanges.

vi) I used to have one bill for mobile,broadband,phone and TV .... now it appears my mobile has to exist as separate bill taken as a separate direct debit from my bank account.

I suspect I might get into trouble for reporting these issues here, but since EE directed me to this forum, I believe I’m entitled to share my views.

I just wish I'd stayed with BT .... and so does the new BT Group CEO (Alison Kirby) 😁

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

JimM11 — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:37:17 GMT

@humeka Import and export has never worked for contacts in the slightest.

Think it was Amazon which removed the Alexia due to a license issue been gone for yonks now and BT/EE both affected on that one.

Bills and accounts are separate, but they can be linked, controlled and viewed with the one EE Account ID, just require all to be linked.

Good luck with the UPS cable issue/ UPS Type and the EE Router connection method. Not sure what you are using Router wise, but the EE smarthub+ is a 3.5 x 1.6mm barrel connection 12V D.C centre positive, and have fitted the CyberPower version 3 unit's that come with two cables, on that fits the EE Router and the Other that is ok for the BT Smarthu2 or the ONT connection.

The EE app is what it is, fluid changing and on a two week cycle off who knows what next!

BT will gladly take you back so the CEO say's try that and see were it goes!

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

humeka — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:36:41 GMT

Re _ALEXA just found this on the forum

Solved: Moving from BT to EE with Advanced Digital Home Phone with Alexa - The EE Community

It would appear BT has a licence but EE doesn't .... No one tells you this when you move to EE despite the phones were supplied by BT.

Contacts import/export worked fine on my old BT Smart Hub

The accounts are linked but EE can not combine the billing for mobile and broadband ... so they say

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

JimM11 — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:30:44 GMT

@humeka The EE smarthub + is NOT a BT hub, so not an apples to apples for the contact's matter of fact not anything for that feature as it has never worked apart from a lot off other work which is NOT Router related!

Accounts and billing will always be separate for BB / Mobile two bills, and two separate DD's to pay no chance off that getting combined but never say never!

EE has there own version off that DV phone now badged EE logo as well, still don't know if Alexa is a function, you would need to ask one off the Product Specialist's off that feature!

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

Profile closed — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:40:21 GMT

@humeka

Welcome to a world of pain, whilst you enjoy learning about “linking”, “ID’s”, and other exciting stuff BT never troubled you with.

I went from 1 triple play account and 1 bill with BT to 3 accounts and 3 bills for the same stuff with EE, and then it only worked after I complained to named CEO’s at BT/EE.

Running at around £100 cash compo, but everything works now and I cannot face throwing it all up in the air again.

Good luck.

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

humeka — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:44:08 GMT

Don't understand a word in your 1st sentence.... BT and EE don't make any hubs/routers they buy them in , but I hope they write a specification for their manufacture and test them . I said the old BT SMARTHUB did accept imported contact from a Android .vcf file , but neither the EE SMARTHUB and the trial SMART HUB 7 + regards the file format as invalid ... I guess the LF/CR problem.

With BT I used to get one bill ..... no problem

I'm not interested in a new phone ... I would prefer to use the 4 I purchased from BT

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

XRaySpeX — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 17:32:20 GMT

iv) The SH+ (dunno where the '7' came from) does not have a USB power connection. It has a barrel connector but you sill gotta get the right diameter.

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

humeka — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 17:36:54 GMT

That's because you don't know about it and you are not part of the trial ... and yes it's a SMARTHUB 7 Plus with a USB-C connector for power and is WIFI 7 .

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

XRaySpeX — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 17:47:01 GMT

Are you talking about the Smart Hub Pro (not Plus)? That is EE's WiFi7 router.

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

humeka — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:30:34 GMT

Have you got a ****** ****** ?? With a USB-C power lead ...

[Mod edit: post edited for tone. Please keep all communication respectful.]

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

XRaySpeX — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:12 GMT

No, I'm merely asking you a Q. I don't know whether the SH Pro has a USB lead but I do know the original SH+ has a barrel connector.

I was not aware of this new SH 7+ . Thank you for drawing my attention to it.

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

JimM11 — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 20:45:22 GMT

@humeka Good luck on the trial, just report all your findings, you are probably a good candidate for it from the BT to original EE Smarthub+ experience and now to the 7+, no way that Smarthub2 to 7+ jump would ever be easy, cannot fix out the now 2 years for the Original Plus version with all the fixes that never happened!

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

humeka — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 21:02:07 GMT

Don't worry Jim , I'm making a nuisance of myself with phone calls and trial reports. I joined the trial in an attempt to get the faults everyone has discussed on here HIGHLIGHTED. Unfortunately to date there would appear to be no improvements.

With regard to the ALEXA issue ... All the EE documentation refers to discontinuation of making calls from ALEXA devices... my issue is really the ADVANCED PHONE WITH ALEXA no longer is recognised by the Hub... so you can't even use it as an ALEXA voice control device within your own ALEXA domain . I really feel sorry for Elderly or Disable people who used the ALEXA voice control for their phone service.... EE have just ignored them

Re: Worse decision I ever made transferring from BT to EE

JimM11 — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 21:21:30 GMT

@humeka Know how that goes, left EE with 13months to go off the 24!